ISTANBUL: Turkiye has decided to withdraw its application to have doner kebab officially recognized as a “traditional specialty guaranteed” within the European Union, according to a report by Hürriyet Daily News.
The decision ends a years-long culinary effort which aimed to “safeguard” one of Turkiye’s most iconic dishes within EU law by standardising it’s preparation under a set of rules.
The Istanbul-based International Doner Federation (UDOFED) had originally filed the application to ensure that doner sold across Europe would adhere to authentic “Turkish style”.
If approved, the EU designation would have restricted the use of meats such as veal or turkey and required restaurants to follow specific Turkish methods of preparation.
However, an EU Commission spokesperson confirmed that on September 23 UDOFED officially withdrew its application, closing the registration process.
